Law / United States / 
North Carolina
HB 301, social media and minors safety act
H.B. 301, 2025-2026 Session (General Assembly, as passed by both chambers in differing forms)
In reconciliation between two chambers, dated , as of .
A social media and minors rule binding private bodies.
- Age threshold
- 16
- Covered services
- Social media platforms
- How the hook was established
- express
- What makes it apply
- Data subject residence
- Obligation class
- Age verification, Consent
- Verification methods
- Parental consent
- Audit expectation
- none
Where it has got to
The text described here is House Bill 301, Sixth Edition, engrossed by the Senate . That print is H301v6, published .
Locally, this stage is conference committee.
The stage above is recorded at www.ncleg.gov.
The Senate passed its committee substitute, as amended, 48 to 0 on . The House voted not to concur on and appointed conferees that day, and the Senate appointed its conferees on . No conference report is recorded.
What it requires
- The duties below are those of the version the House passed in May 2025; the Senate passed a differing version on .
- Do not allow a child under 14 to hold an account on your social media platform.no control in the NIST Privacy Framework
- Obtain parental consent before a 14 or 15 year old holds an account.NIST Privacy FrameworkCT.PO-P1
- Verify users' ages to apply these limits; the bill places age verification duties on platforms.no control in the NIST Privacy Framework
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
In the frameworks
- NIST Privacy Framework
- CT.PO-P1Policies, processes, and procedures for authorizing data processing (e.g., organizational decisions, individual consent), revoking authorizations, and maintaining authorizations are established and in place.
Our reading of where this law's duties sit in each framework, and in the NIST Privacy Framework, line by line beside each duty above. It never says that running a control meets the law. How we read a framework against the law
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalties
Proposed civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation, plus up to $10,000 in damages for an affected child account holder.
Penalty structure
As proposed in the Sixth Edition, the Senate's engrossed text of : a violation of the children's protections is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under G.S. 75-1.1 that only the Attorney General may bring against an addictive social media platform, and in addition to the civil penalty under G.S. 75-15.2 the Attorney General may collect up to $50,000 per violation plus reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs; the court may assess punitive damages where noncompliance is a consistent pattern of knowing or reckless conduct. The age-verification and data-use sections carry the same $50,000 penalty.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 50,000
Statutory damages
As proposed: an addictive social media platform that knowingly or recklessly violates the children's protections is liable to the child account holder for damages the court may award UP TO $10,000 (a maximum, not a guaranteed minimum), plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. An action may only be brought on behalf of a child account holder and must be filed within one year of when the claimant knew, or reasonably should have known, of the violation. The figure is that of the Senate's engrossed text of (Sixth Edition).
- As of
- Currency
- USD
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
North Carolina Attorney General (proposed)
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does 'standard age verification' in proposed G.S. 114B-1(b)(7), defined as any commercially reasonable method of age verification approved by the addictive social media platform, leave the platform free to approve its own method, and who decides whether a method is commercially reasonable?
What it makes you log
Log retention
Proposed G.S. 114B-1(b)(3)b.1 (anonymous age verification), 114B-2(b)(2) and 114B-2(c)(3).
- As of
- Basis
- Purpose bound
- Prohibits retaining
- Personal identifying information used to verify age, once the age has been verified, under the anonymous age verification method the platform must offer; and all personal information held about a terminated account of a child, unless there are legal requirements to maintain it
Logging duty
Proposed G.S. 114B-3(a) requires an addictive social media platform to verify age by anonymous or standard age verification, and the definition of anonymous age verification in 114B-1(b)(3) bars retaining the identifying information used once age is verified. Proposed 114B-2(b)(2) and (c)(3) require deletion of all personal information held about a terminated account. The bill requires no record of the check. Answered on the sixth edition, engrossed .
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
As passed by the House 106-6 in May 2025, the bill would bar children under 14 from holding social media accounts and require parental consent for 14 and 15 year olds, with age verification duties on platforms. The Senate passed a revised committee substitute 48-0 on , the House voted not to concur on , and a conference committee was appointed the next day to reconcile the versions.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates a social platform.
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